This week on Inside Appalachia, a chef has created a hidden culinary hot spot in Asheville, North Carolina that’s attracting national attention for its eclectic menu and Filipino hospitality. Also, every thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail begins with a first step. Famed hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis shares hers.
This week, a chef has created a hidden culinary hot spot in Asheville, North Carolina that’s attracting national attention for its eclectic menu and Filipino hospitality.
Also, every thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail begins with a first step. Famed hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis shares hers.
And the holy month of Ramadan ends with a feast. But war and famine in Gaza muted some of this year’s celebrations.
We’ll have these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.
Chef Silver Iocovozzi brings elevated fare and Filipino hospitality to Neng Jr.’s in Asheville.
Photo Credit: Will Crooks
Asheville, North Carolina has an eclectic dining scene and one of its “hidden” gems is Neng Jr.’s. It serves elevated Filipino cuisine in a little restaurant that’s tucked away in an alley on Asheville’s artsy West Side.
Folkways Reporter Margaret McLeod Leef visited and brings us this story.
Tackling The Appalachian Trail With Jennifer Pharr Davis
Jennifer Pharr Davis shares the story of her first steps into the world of trail hiking.
Photo Credit: Keith Wright
Few people know the Appalachian Trail (AT) better than Jennifer Pharr Davis — a North Carolina native who’s thru-hiked the AT three times.
In 2008, on her second thru-hike, she set the record for the fastest Appalachian Trail hike by a woman. Three years later, she thru-hiked it again — and set the record for the fastest known time on the Appalachian Trail by anyone up to that point.
Last year, Mason Adams spoke to her about some of her hikes — and how they shaped her identity as an Appalachian.
Ramadan In The Mountains
Men serve themselves their iftar meal at the Islamic Center of Morgantown, March 24, 2024. One of the sponsors of the night’s iftar, Mohamed Hefeida, can be seen wearing a mask.
Photo Credit: Chris Schulz/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
This year, April 9, marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan in the Islamic faith. During Ramadan, observant Muslims fast from sunup to sundown. Their fast is traditionally broken with a feast called an iftar. In Morgantown, West Virginia, the meal was overshadowed this year by the war in Gaza.
WVPB’s Chris Schulz reports.
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Hotdog, Sean Watkins, John Blissard, Jeff Ellis, Brew Davis and Dinosaur Burps.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our Executive Producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from Folkways Editor Nicole Musgrave.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
In March, broadcast journalists from Virginia and West Virginia were recognized when the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters met to present awards for notable stories produced in 2023. This week, we listen back to some of our award-winning stories.
In March, broadcast journalists from Virginia and West Virginia were recognized when the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters met to present awards for notable stories produced in 2023.
Angelo’s Old World Sausage is available in stores in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.
Photo Credit: Zack Harold/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Zack Harold is the unofficial foodie for Folkways. Last summer, he took us to see how the sausage gets made with Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage. The recipe originated in the Calabria region of Italy, but it’s made in West Virginia.
Make Way For The Mushroom Hunters
These chanterelles are about to be turned into a tasty treat. They were harvested the day before an unsuccessful mushroom hunt, and turned into a topper for vanilla ice cream.
Photo Credit: Wendy Welch/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Gathering foods like ramps, sassafras or blackberries from the forest has always been a part of Appalachian culture. In recent years, mushroom hunting has been having a moment.
Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch spent time with mushroom hunters in Virginia and West Virginia and brought us the story.
Winter Wassailing In Asheville
Wassailers sing outside a home in Asheville, North Carolina. Traditionally, wassailers not only sang for their neighbors, but also sang in apple orchards to ensure a good harvest for the coming year.
Photo Credit: Rebecca Williams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Not many folks are thinking about winter holiday traditions this time of year. But back before Christmas, Folkways Reporter Rebecca Williams explored the old English tradition of wassailing in Asheville, North Carolina. A group of friends there got into this old singing tradition as a way to connect to their roots. Williams reported.
Season Of The Witch
H. Byron Ballard at home.
Photo Credit: Llewellyn Worldwide
In Appalachia, witchcraft goes way back. Wise women still practice herbology or trace the patterns of the moon. H. Byron Ballard is a practicing witch in Asheville, North Carolina. She’s also the author of several books, including Small Magics: Practical Secrets from an Appalachian Village Witch. Last fall, she spoke with producer Bill Lynch about her way of life – and quizzed Bill on cryptids.
We also want to congratulate WVPB reporters and Inside Appalachia contributors Emily Rice and Breana Heaney, news director Eric Douglas and Us & Them host Trey Kay. Each of them won awards from the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting brought home 12 awards Saturday, March 23, 2024 from the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters Awards Luncheon at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Pictured (left to right) is Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch, Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch, Us & Them Host and Producer Trey Kay, Southern West Virginia Reporter Briana Heaney and WVPB News Director Eric Douglas.
Photo Credit: Eric Douglas/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Christian Lopez, Dave and Tim Bing, John Inghram, Marissa Anderson, Frank George and Hank Williams Jr.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from Folkways editors Chris Julin and Nicole Musgrave.
You can send us an email at InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
On a cold December night in Asheville, North Carolina, a group of about 20 people gather on a stranger’s front porch. Some of them have come together for the past decade to celebrate the holidays, build community, and, most important, wassail.
This story originally aired in the Dec. 24, 2023 episode of Inside Appalachia.
A Holiday Custom With English Roots
On a cold December night in Asheville, North Carolina, a group of about 20 people gather on a stranger’s front porch. Some of them have come together for the past decade to celebrate the holidays, build community, and, most important, wassail.
One of the wassailers knocks on the door. A woman opens it. “We’re wassailers and we would like to sing you songs,” said the leader of the wassailing group. “I’d be delighted,” the homeowner replies. The group burst into laughter and began to sing “Apple Tree Wassail” in four part harmony.
O lily-white lily, O lily-white pin, Please to come down and let us come in. Lily-white lily, O lily-white smock, Please to come down and pull back the lock. (It’s) our Wassa-ail jolly wassail Joy come to our jolly wassail
Apple Tree Wassail, Traditional, England
Saro Lynch-Thomason leads the Asheville group. At 36 years old, Lynch-Thomason wears her dark hair short on one side and long on the other. She sports a bright red scarf and a cluster of bells that ring when she walks. She explains that wassailing is a centuries-old tradition with English roots.
“The term ‘wassail’ comes from an Anglo-Saxon phrase that meant good health, so it was a toast to good health,” Lynch-Thomason said. “Wassail itself was a drink, usually made from ale and cooked apples and a lot of spices that would be served in households, often around Twelfth Night or Christmastime or New Year’s. And coincided with a tradition in the Middle Ages of working class folk, peasants, going to the homes of the wealthy and having this customary charitable exchange, where the working people are singing to and blessing the wealthy master and mistress of the house. And in exchange, they’re being gifted food, they’re being gifted cider and wassail. And they’re often being gifted money, as well.”
Good health to your house, may riches come soon, Bring us some cider, we’ll drink down the moon. It’s Our Wassa-ail jolly wassail Joy come to our jolly wassail
Apple Tree Wassail, Traditional, England
The Asheville wassailers do not ask for money, but after singing at a house decorated with bright holiday lights, they ask for another gift.
“As you heard in the last song, we did ask for alcohol several times,” Lynch-Thomason said.
The wassailers laugh, and the homeowner asks, “Do you want alcohol?”
“You guys have some cups. I can see that,” another household member observes.
Wassailing is not your typical round of Christmas caroling. It is more mischievous. And that is something that the Asheville group takes very seriously.
“This was a really fun and rowdy tradition,” Lynch-Thomason said. “And it eventually got displaced by caroling in the Victorian era. It was considered kind of too rambunctious by the emerging culture. And so, the spirit of what we’re trying to return to is that kind of raucous, fun feeling of these strangers with a party showing up at your door.”
There was an old farmer and he had an old cow But how to milk her he didn’t know how. He put his old cow down in his old barn, And a little more liquor won’t do us no harm. Harm me boys harm, harm me boys harm.
Apple Tree Wassail, Traditional, England
In fact, wassailing developed such a bad reputation for public drunkenness, it was banned by the Puritans in England and was highly discouraged by religious leaders who settled in the United States. But recently, the tradition has had a renaissance — in both England and America.
Wassailers sing outside a home in Asheville, North Carolina. Traditionally, wassailers not only sang for their neighbors, but also sang in apple orchards to ensure a good harvest for the coming year.
Credit: Rebecca Williams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
One wassailer, Leila Weinstein, has been with the group for about five years. She explains what draws her to this tradition. “I love the old songs. I love ballads. I love all the medieval imagery,” Weinstein said. “And then just the comradery of singing together, and you know, lighting up the night with some song.”
For Caleb Magoon, wassailing is an excuse for a really good time. And it is a way of connecting to others. “It’s just getting together with people every year that you might not see otherwise, you know. And having a fun time being silly,” Magoon said.
But members of the Asheville group are not only drawn to wassailing because of the rowdy good time and the sense of community. For participants like Erin Gahan Clark, it is also a way to connect with the traditions of their ancestors.
“I think that for me, like I was raised in the Catholic faith and so I always knew about Christmas caroling,” Gahan Clark said. “But I feel like these songs, that are older, are connecting me to my well ancestors and like more ancient roots. And I just dig it. It feels good in my body.”
Wassailing As Connection To Ethnic Identity
Most of the wassailers in Asheville are white. And wassailing seems to help them connect to their ancestral traditions and ethnic identity. For Lynch-Thomason and many of her white peers, they feel disconnected from a sense of ethnic identity. And she said that here in the United States, that is by design.
“There’s been a long and very purposeful project of making people white here. Of having people forget their ancestral identities and becoming white as a way to create racial hierarchies and reinforce white supremacy,” Lynch-Thomason said. “When you came off the boat, you know at whatever period, there was a project here of making you become white, and forget your ancestral languages and traditions. And so today, white folks in this country are experiencing a lot of grief and have a lot of yearning for ancestral practices.”
Lynch-Thomason has experienced this grief of ethnic ambiguity firsthand. And when she was in her mid-20s, she decided to learn about the traditions of her ancestors.
“In my case, I have ancestors from England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Scandinavia, kind of all over the place. And there are several hundreds of years of separation from any of the traditions from those places. So I’ve sought out and learned from other people, English folk songs, Scottish ballads,” she said.
Lynch-Thomason said that connecting with these English and Scottish folk songs has had a big impact.
Wassail wassail all over the town Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown Our bowl it is made: Of the white maple tree With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee
Gloucestershire Wassail, Traditional, Gloucestershire, England, Lyrics published Oxford Book of Carols, 1928
“There’s something really powerful to me about speaking words and singing songs, holding those vibrations, those words, those forms of knowledge in my body,” Lynch-Thomason said. “And knowing that people in my ancestry also sang these songs and held these words.”
Saro Lynch-Thomason (third from left) leads the wassailers in rehearsal. One of the songs the group performed, the “Boar’s Head Carol” was first published in 1521.
Credit: Rebecca Williams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
The boar’s head as I understand Is the rarest dish in all this land Which thus bedecked with a gay garland Let us servire cantico (‘let us serve with a song’)
Boar’s Head Carol, Queens College version, Oxford, England, first published 1521
It is not always easy to learn songs and rituals that haven’t been passed down from generation to generation. There are challenges to singing a 700-year-old song.
During a rehearsal at Lynch-Thomason’s parents’ house in Asheville, the wassailing group struggles with Latin pronunciations.
“‘Servire’… I’m sure this is wrong. ‘Let us servire…’” Lynch-Thomason said to the group. “I’m changing this as I do it. ‘Let us servire cantico.’”
The wassailers repeat the phrase in unison, sounding unsure of their pronunciation.
“That’s some Lat-English right there,” declares Magoon.
It is messy trying to reconfigure a 15th century English tradition for 21st century Asheville. But Lynch-Thomason said it is important that white folks make the effort to learn about their ethnic identities and the practices of their ancestors.
“When we aren’t able to connect to those practices, we end up appropriating and attaching to other cultures, indigenous cultures, and African American cultures,” Lynch-Thomason said. “And it’s really important to understand that in Indigenous history here, and in African American history, song and dance traditions, and many spiritual traditions were illegal for a very, very long time. We have to think about how painful that is for white folks to then be trying to borrow or utilize those traditions without much context for them. When we as white people actually have those traditions in our ancestry that we can be seeking out in a healthier way.”
A Toast To The New Year
Old Christmas is past Twelfth Night is the last And we bid you adieu great joy to the new
Please to See the King, Traditional, Pembrokeshire, South Wales
Back on the porch, as the group finishes singing, one of the people in the house returns with a bottle of wine. One of the wassailers slips on a costume that looks like it was made out of red and blue rags. She wears a wreath on her head that is wrapped in fake ivy, with battery-operated candles on top — a sure cue that we’re no longer in the Middle Ages.
The wassailers begin to stomp and sing.
The ‘Spirit of the New Year’ toasts a household member while Saro Lynch-Thomason opens a bottle of cider. The ‘Spirit’s’ costume was modeled on a traditional mumming costume from the British Isles, which featured torn strips of fabric on the sleeves and legs.
Credit: Rebecca Williams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Spirit of Earth and Light, traveling through this winter night Will you bless those here with fortune in the coming year?
Spirit of Earth and Light, Lynch-Thomason, 2016, Asheville, NC
The Spirit of the New Year emerges from behind the singers and dances up to the owners of the house to make a toast. She tips her glass against the bottle of wine and people cheer.
“Did everyone get wine?” asks the woman in the house.
The wassailers shout goodbyes and thank yous as they leave the porch, their voices fading as they walk away.
“I just think we so badly need community. And there are so many ways that our current culture divides us from each other. And isolates us from each other. And when you get people together to sing together, something really, really powerful happens for us. And it happens in our bones, it happens at like this molecular level. And we need it,” Lynch-Thomason said. “And so to create that with a group of people, and then bring that as a gift to others, to say, even if you’re feeling isolated in your home or isolated in your community, we show up and we sing to you. That’s a powerful gift.”
We have traveled many miles Over hedges and stiles In search of our king Unto you we bring
Please to See the King, Traditional, Pembrokeshire, South Wales
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This story is part of the Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporting Project, a partnership with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Inside Appalachia and the Folklife Program of the West Virginia Humanities Council.
The Folkways Reporting Project is made possible in part with support from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation. Subscribe to the podcast to hear more stories of Appalachian folklife, arts and culture.
Wednesday made big waves with Rat Saw God when it came out in April. The music site Pitchfork gave it 8.8 out of 10 and named it Best New Music. Before Wednesday set out on a big European tour, Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams caught up with Karly Hartzman.
This conversation originally airedin the Nov. 19, 2023 episode of Inside Appalachia.
Asheville indie rock band Wednesday has had an eventful 2023 so far, releasing an acclaimed album and touring the U.S. and Europe.
Wednesday is based in Asheville, North Carolina, and consists of singer Karly Hartzman and her partner Jake Lenderman on guitar, Xandy Chelmis on lap steel, Margo Schultz on bass and Alan Miller playing drums.
Before Wednesday set out on a big European tour, Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams caught up with Karly Hartzman.
Wednesday’s 2023 album, Rat Saw God.
Courtesy
Adams: When I saw y’all play at Cat’s Cradle this summer, you talked about the importance of remaining in the South and staying where you’re at. So what compels you to stay in Western North Carolina there in Asheville?
Hartzman: The more places I see, the more I’m convinced that it’s the most beautiful place on the earth, and my favorite place on the earth. The more I travel, the more I’m affirmed in that. So I genuinely do just love the surroundings. I like the culture. I think Southern culture is one of the most intact. That’s one of the things about people being conservative, is they want to retain a lot of historical things. There’s a lot of negative stuff that goes along with being conservative, but there’s also a preservation of culture in a way. When it’s not a negative thing, it’s actually an interesting thing.
I went into an antique store the other day in Burnsville, [when] I was getting my license renewed, and there’s this super old guy. This lady was talking to him about all the stuff that she needed fixing around her house. And he was like, “Yeah, I can fix literally all of that.” Antique lamps and antique this-and-that. I just feel like a lot of that stuff is still intact here. There’s a lot of people who can’t stay here for fear of their life, obviously, and I totally understand them feeling like they need to escape whether it’s because they’re queer or they’re Black, with the police violence here. But if you’re not scared for your life, and you’re willing to fight for those who can’t, I think it’s a really good place with a lot of room to be productive.
There’s a ton of grassroots organization and people who are so passionate about change. And yeah, just the best food, too. I mean, they don’t got Bojangles anywhere else. So why would I live anywhere else?
Adams: There’s so much about the band that resonates with me, from its sound to the apparent musical influences. But the songwriting is just so incredible. It’s impressionistic and visual and rooted in place — but it also feels universal. How do your surroundings and experiences make your way into your music and your songs?
Hartzman: With any writing, I just think I’m impressed with people that are able to describe their own life in a way that captures how original everyone’s life is. It’s harder than you would think to find the things that make you and your life what it is. It’s a muscle, and obviously I’ve really worked it since I was a high schooler writing. I did poetry for a really long time and tried to find the little things that were interesting to me, and it tended to be outside of myself.
I find it really easy to get bored with my own thoughts in my own brain, so I look outside myself. That’s the one thing that I feel like a lot of people bring up about my writing, is that it’s kind of like a spectator. I try to look really closely about what’s going on that is specific to where I’m sitting, or where I’m at, at that moment. And once you build that muscle, it just comes to you. I find writing is the easiest part of the whole process because it’s happening around you all the time. If you live in a place that you’re inspired by — that’s why I am so attached to North Carolina and Asheville.
Adams: There’s so many songs I love on this record, but I wanted to ask you about “Bath County,” partly because I’m from Clifton Forge, which is adjacent. “Bath County” sprawls between eastern Tennessee and western Virginia, and it’s got all these memorable lines and visual images. Can you tell us just a little bit more about that song?
Hartzman: Jake’s mom is from Bath County, and she likes to go every, like once a year, maybe once every two years, to visit and go around her old stomping grounds. They’ll rent a house and we’ll go out there, and a lot of the visuals from that are from the drive up there. I saw a high school football game going on. It was the kind of game that happens around here, where you can just walk in and watch. There was a kid drinking a Fanta or maybe a Gatorade, I can’t remember, but it was fluorescent red and “Fanta” sounded better. So I went with that.
The other kind of section of that song about the guy who overdosed in his car was about something me and Jake saw on our way to Dollywood. We were going to go run around and try to have a good fun time, but on our way there, we stopped at a Chik-Fil-A, and the guy was surrounded by cops. I thought I was seeing a dead body for the first time, but luckily he sat up, but it took him a really long time. I was just struck by those two things. They had a similar tone, and that put them into the same song. That’s how a lot of my stuff is written.
Asheville band Wednesday.
Credit: Zachary Chick, courtesy of Wednesday
Adams: So you all have just come off this long national tour and you’re getting ready to head to Europe. How’s traveling and going on the road affect your perspective on home and where you live?
Hartzman: I think we’re still figuring that out. I think in the long run, success to us is really gonna mean that we’re able to spend more time at home. Right now, we’re not really able to do that. But whenever I talk to my bandmates, their goals in a lot of ways — except our drummer Allen loves being out on the road, he’s a total road dog — but everyone else is, ideally we would be able to do a month’s worth of touring instead of six months of touring or eight months, whatever we’ve been doing, and be able to sustain a life that’s comfortable at home for most of our time. Xandy just built a farm on his property, and it’s really hard for him to be away right now. Of course, I’m lucky because I have Jake out there and he’s my romantic partner, but everyone else was away from their loved ones. It’s really hard. So I think our dream would be to be able to spend the majority of our time in the place we love the most, which is Asheville. We love playing shows, but like yeah, it’s a pretty intense lifestyle.
Adams: Y’all have had such a big year this year with the album coming out and the sold-out tours. What wisdom have you taken away from these experiences you’re having?
Hartzman: Gosh, I mean, I learn something every day. I’m a huge introvert, there’s no way I would have the type of human connection that I have with my bandmates, the kind that comes from spending 24 hours with a group of people a day. It really shows me that human connection, even though it’s really difficult for me, is probably the most nourishing and important thing of life. Another thing I’ve learned is a lot of self-care stuff. I’m still figuring that out, because I don’t drink at home or really at all, but on tour it’s kind of necessary for me to get on stage sometimes.
So I’m trying to figure out my relationship with that, and I go to the sauna a lot when I can on tour. A lot of musicians end up being workout people and run. When they are on a tour bus, they’ll run during the day. I think that’s something I’ll have to start implementing. I never really understood why so many older musicians were such juice heads, but I understood, yeah you feel like sh*t on tour if you don’t do that, because there’s so much exposure to not the best food and a lot of drugs and alcohol. Which are fun, and I like to partake, but you’ve also got to balance that out with taking care of yourself.
Adams: What are y’all working on next?
Hartzman: Well, Jake’s album is going to be coming out. And then, our next album is written. We haven’t really practiced it as a band yet, but all of my songs are ready. It’s mostly just about finding time to practice them and then record them. It takes forever for that kind of stuff. But yeah, that’s something I really want to reaffirm to our audience, because the thing I hate most is when a band is received well, and then pivots in another direction or breaks under the pressure and just doesn’t release anymore good music.
I’ve been so intense about not letting that really affect how I write, any good or bad press. But I just feel, really, all the songs still feel the same to me as before. I feel like I’m still the same person writing. That’s what I’ve been trying to keep intact. But yeah, next one’s written, we’re just trying to figure out when to get it all down.
Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville, North Carolina, is in the midst of an indie rock hot streak. Inside Appalachia host Mason Adams contacted Drop of Sun co-founder Alex Farrar to find out how he got into making music, and what’s the secret behind making buzzworthy music albums.
This conversation originally aired in the June 4, 2023 episode of Inside Appalachia.
Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville, North Carolina, is in the midst of an indie rock hot streak.
Singer-songwriter Indigo De Souza released “All of This Will End” to critical acclaim in May, just one month after Wednesday’s “Rat Saw God” was named “Best New Music” at Pitchfork. Both of these albums, along with recent records by Angel Olsen, Archers of Loaf and Snail Mail were recorded and produced at Drop of Sun Studios.
Inside Appalachia host Mason Adams contacted Drop of Sun co-founder Alex Farrar to find out how he got into making music, and what’s the secret behind making buzzworthy music albums.
The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Adams: How did you get started and get into this work?
Farrar: My dad had this little 4-track. He would use it to demo out songs and jam around by himself. He picked up on my interest and showed me how to use it. We’d record covers of songs together, and stuff like that. It just kept growing and growing, and I eventually moved to Asheville in 2010 to attend the University of North Carolina at Asheville’s music technology program. I was recording friends’ bands and it just snowballed and snowballed until eventually it became the only thing that I do.
Adams: You mentioned the UNCA connection. What brought you to the mountains and, more importantly, what’s kept you there?
Farrar: Asheville is a special place. It’s one of the smallest cities that I’ve lived in, but it’s just incredibly fertile. There’s so many creative people here. The community is definitely what’s kept me here. I love the people that live here. It just seems like it’s always growing and getting more exciting, and it’s also a beautiful place to live.
Adams: How would you describe the scene in Asheville right now and some of the music coming out of the city?
Farrar: Yeah, there’s always been a very heavy experimental music scene here, which I love. There’s always something going on in that world. There’s a great heavy music scene here, and punk and metal and stuff, and I love that sort of shade of Asheville.
There’s also Moog and Make Noise synthesizers, who are huge synth companies that are based in town. That attracts a lot of creative minded musicians. There’s a lot of really amazing indie rock bands that are killing it like Wednesday, Indigo [De Souza] and MJ [Lenderman].
Adams: Drop of Sun Studios has been attached to a lot of these really prominent records coming out of Asheville lately. How did that get started?
Farrar: Drop of Sun was founded by my studio partner, Adam McDaniel, in 2014. It started in his basement, and it was this tiny room with low ceilings. It’s a space that shouldn’t have worked, but we made a lot of really great music in that tiny room, and it continued to grow. As time went on, we kept working on more and more projects. In 2021, we opened up our new location on Haywood Road. The Asheville music scene continues to evolve, and we’ve sort of grown with it. We’re super thankful to be part of the music community here.
Adams: Y’all are associated with some really cool recordings from 2021. Do you want to start with Angel Olsen?
Farrar: Yeah, sure. Angel’s EP was great. That was actually one of the very last things that happened at the initial Drop of Sun location, which is kind of cool. Adam got together with Angel with the idea of doing some covers of ‘80s songs. This is such a rad, fun interpretation of all those songs. I could just watch them picking apart those songs that you might hear while you’re grocery shopping, but then reinterpreting through the lens of whacked-out synths. Like, how do you make these songs feel kind of fresh and fun?
Adams: Then also that year, “Twin Plagues” came out from Wednesday, which is the album that put that band on my radar. Tell me about some of your memories working on that record.
Farrar: That record was so much fun to work on. They’re the most fun people to be in the room with, which is kind of the best thing. You spend a lot of long hours in a studio with a band. It’s a huge plus if they’re all funny and kind.
Adams: When I listen to that record, tell me some of what I’m hearing so far as the Alex Farrar part.
Farrar: Jake Lenderman, one of the guitar players — there were so many songs where we would have a wall of guitar amps, and we’d be trying to like this riff for this part and this riff for that. We had so much fun figuring out the sounds to fit the songs, and he’s so down for that.
Adams: Do you feel something different when a band like that is working with you?
Farrar: Yeah, Wednesday is a great example of a band that I immediately connect with their influences and the sonics of what they’re interested in, musically. Like Karly’s a huge Unwound fan. Jake’s a huge Pavement guy. We’d go back and forth on these bands that we loved, and the sounds that we’re chasing together. It was an immediate connection.
Adams: Jake Lenderman is also MJ Lenderman the solo artist. How is it going from working with a band to working with a more individual project like the album “Boat Songs” from 2022?
Farrar: He is remarkably driven. He comes in with a plan. The book is open and we throw stuff at the wall, we find stuff. He came in, and we were just like, “Throw down like a scratch guitar.” And then like, throw some drums and kind of piecemeal together this song. It ends up being this very full band that’s coming through your speakers. But it’s great to work on each individual element with somebody, and put all these puzzle pieces on the table, and then figure out how to put them into what ends up being like this huge sounding song.
Adams: So when Jake Lenderman and Wednesday came back to do “Rat Saw God,” the new album, did it just feel like a continuation? Or does it feel different with each new recording that you work on with these groups?
Farrar: I think a little bit of both. But the more exciting part of it is, I think I could just totally see that. They just continue to get better. There’s growth in these artists. They’re just like always chasing. They’re not settling. Obviously, we had a record that was already established, which is rad, but it didn’t feel like the same record. It felt like we’re forging our own path here, and we’re kind of trying to grow as a band and make something new.
Adams: I would love to talk about Indigo De Souza a little bit.
Farrar: Indigo is a really incredible songwriter based in Asheville. She’s been making music, seems like all her life. I met her through the process of making “Any Shape You Take.” Adam McDaniel, along with producer Brad Cook, who is an incredible producer based in Durham, North Carolina — the three of us worked on that record together, and the sort of thing that tied it all together was she was just so driven. She’s one of those musicians who just doesn’t settle for anything. Like, this isn’t done until it’s like the best thing it can be. I love working with someone who has that drive and vision.
Adams: Who else do we want to talk about? What are some other records that you’ve worked on recently?
Farrar: Yeah, there’s a couple of bands I would love to shout out that are from North Carolina as well. They have releases that aren’t announced yet. Fust is a project primarily headed by this singer, Aaron Dowdy, who is from Abington and is an absolutely incredible lyricist and songwriter.
Secret Shame is an Asheville band, and I’ve worked on a record with them that came out earlier this year. They’re another great example of how wildly fertile and cool Asheville musicians are.
And then Truth Club is … I don’t know exactly how to describe them. Their guitar player described them as a slow core band that plays too fast. They’re this like whacked-out math rock, grungy indie madness, and they’re just so incredible.
On this West Virginia Morning, Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville, North Carolina has become something of an “it” record studio. Run by Alex Farrar and Adam McDaniel, the studio has racked up a slew of acclaimed records inside the past year, including albums by Angel Olsen, Archers of Loaf and more.
On this West Virginia Morning, Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville, North Carolina has become something of an “it” record studio. Run by Alex Farrar and Adam McDaniel, the studio has racked up a slew of acclaimed records inside the past year, including albums by Angel Olsen, Archers of Loaf and more.
Inside Appalachia host Mason Adams spoke with Farrar about recording and the Asheville music scene.
Also, in this show, this week’s encore broadcast of Mountain Stage is from our 2022 fall season and features Ireland’s We Banjo 3 – who has our Song of the Week.
We Banjo 3 made their second appearance on Mountain Stage during this visit. The Galway, Ireland, and Nashville-based quartet incorporates banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar and percussion beside strong choruses and melodic hooks, to create their buzz-worth live shows.
We listen to the band’s performance of “Garden Song,” which is included on their album Open The Road.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.
West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Caroline MacGregor, Curtis Tate, Chris Schulz, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Liz McCormick, Randy Yohe, and Shepherd Snyder.
Eric Douglas is our news director. Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and producer.
Teresa Wills is our host. Zander Aloi guest hosted this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
